Archive for January, 2010

Eco-friendly electronics

The Electronic product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) was created by the Green Electronics Council.  This newly launched standard encourages manufacturers to design products that us less energy and can be harmlessly recycled.

The EPA estimates that in the next five years, purchases of EPEAT-registered computers could reduce hazardous waste by 4 million pounds and save enough energy to power 2 million homes.  This is very exciting news.  $250 billion is spent per year on powering computers worldwide – 85% of that power is wasted while the computer simply idles.  This is something to think about when we leave our computer on when not in use.  If you don’t want to worry about remembering to turn off your computer, a new “smart’ power strip will be available.  It automatically senses when your computer is not in use and shuts it down.

Cell phone manufacturers are also jumping on the bandwagon.  If you charge your phone overnight, you are wasting a lot of energy.  Nokia is preparing to introduce “unplug alerts” for their units.  They will cause fully charged phones to beep and display an alert to unplug the phone.  Just this one simple advancement in technology could save enough electricity to power 85,000 homes annually.  Pretty amazing statistics.

Solar chargers are also going to be a great alternative for cell phones, Ipods, and laptops.  Motorola is working on a phone that always remains charged – no plugs, no cords.

As these companies are designing electronics with “green” technology, it will be interesting to see what the future brings.

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The future of cars

2010 is going to bring many changes.  The development of new cars is at the top of the list.  We are going to see many things we never thought possible.  There are going to be cars run on hydrogen, air, solar power, electricity and biofuel.  Sounds like a Jules Verne prediction.

The new air powered cars will use compressed air.  A compressor on the car will create the air and will eliminate the need for a generator.  It will actually clean and cool the atmosphere.   They will be light weight and you will be able to drive 200 miles at a time.   Tata Motors has just invested 30 million dollars to get these cars on the road.   The American distributor, Zero Pollution Motors already has set a price of $17,800.  Not a bad price at all.  They will be working on getting the cars to go further and faster, but we are certainly off to a good start.  The Paris Motor Show is the place to be in 2010.  They are going to be showing off all the new cars.  The new hydrogen car is pretty amazing.  This car can power a house.  The universe is 92% hydrogen.  Hydrogen is flammable but lighter than gas and safer.  These cars have a fuel cell that generates electricity from a chemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen.  They are zero emission vehicles that look very promising.  Unlike electric motors which take hours to recharge, these silent cars can be re-fueled in minutes.  Norway is the front runner in this technology.  Norway just opened a hydrogen highway to test out these cars.  These cars use water vapor.  They are a sustainable technology for a better environment.  They will reduce our dependence on petroleum.  The Equinox Fuel cell vehicle from Chevy is the most advanced fuel cell propulsion system to date.  This vehicle was given its 2008 Green Car Vision Award for its forward thinking technology.  It won over the Honda FCX Clarity and the Toyota prius Plug-in.   These cars when parked will be able to produce electricity, a very interesting concept for the future.   It is pretty amazing what we are going to see in the year ahead.  We are now starting to recycle car parts to make fuel.  85% of cars would get recycled, but  mostly the metal parts.  Now we are recycling the 15% of parts that were discarded and turning them into fuel.  The plastic and foam from car mats and steering wheels are put into a reactor and heated to 900 degrees F.  It is then pressurized with 600 lbs of pressure.  Even though there are PVC’s in this plastic and foam that could be dangerous if near a flame, there is no danger in this method.  It is very safe.  The recycled parts are then mixed with water to create bio-fuel.  Who would believe that old car parts could power our new car.  It  is exciting to see what develops this year in the car industry.  This will be a year like we have never seen before.

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